Special prosecutor Jasper Mills presents his case during the start of the retrial of Richard J. Wright on his previous conviction for murder and arson which he has spent 32 years in jail Monday July 9, 2018 at the Rensselaer County Courthouse in Troy, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less

Special prosecutor Jasper Mills presents his case during the start of the retrial of Richard J. Wright on his previous conviction for murder and arson which he has spent 32 years in jail Monday July 9, 2018 at ... more

Special prosecutor Jasper Mills presents his case during the start of the retrial of Richard J. Wright on his previous conviction for murder and arson which he has spent 32 years in jail Monday July 9, 2018 at the Rensselaer County Courthouse in Troy, N.Y. (Skip Dickstein/Times Union) less

Special prosecutor Jasper Mills presents his case during the start of the retrial of Richard J. Wright on his previous conviction for murder and arson which he has spent 32 years in jail Monday July 9, 2018 at ... more

TROY – A Rensselaer County State Supreme Court justice is expected to rule from the bench Thursday on defense motions to vacate the July murder and arson conviction of a 50-year-old man the judge convicted of setting a blaze that killed two teenagers 32 years ago.

Rensselaer County Judge Andrew Ceresia is scheduled to sentence Richard J. Wright Thursday on four counts of second-degree murder and one-count of first-degree arson. It is the second time he's been convicted in connection with the case.

The motions filed by Wright's attorney, Michael P. McDermott, ask Ceresia to overturn the guilty verdict the judge rendered after Wright opted for a bench trial rather than taking his chances with a jury.

Ceresia deliberated for three days before finding Wright guilty.

It was the second time that Wright was found guilty of killing Tara Gilbert, 14, and Meredith Pipino, 13, by setting the fire on Sept. 1, 1986 on a rear porch at 17 108th St. in Lansingburgh. Wright has been imprisoned since he was arrested in 1987.

Ceresia ordered a new trial for Wright and set aside his 1988 conviction on the four murder and one arson counts. Ceresia took this action after the defense presented new evidence that undermined the initial forensic evidence in the case.

McDermott argued that the new verdict should be vacated due to the "ever-changing testimony"of primary prosecution witness Martin "Danny" Williams regarding Wright's confession to him about the fire. He argued Special Prosecutor Jasper Mills instructed Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Special Agent Mark Meeks against writing a report that would have been turned over to the defense. McDermott also took issue with Mills' closing argument and told the judge the special prosecutor failed to take the oath of office.

Williams drew most of McDermott's attention both during the trial and in his motions.

"His credibility is non-existent. He has lied for 32 years and been caught in his lies by his own prior testimony and police records. The benefit he received for his false testimony was undeniable, an incredible 24 felonies were not pursued against him for his testimony against Mr. Wright," McDermott said in his filing.

McDermott pointed to Williams introducing a "bottle of gas" as the means for Wright setting the fire as evidence of his changing story. Williams never mentioned the bottle at the original 1988 trial nor in any previous statements to police.

"According to Northwestern University Law School's Center on Wrongful Convictions, the leading cause of wrongful convictions in capital cases in the United States is false informant testimony. This is exactly what happened in this case," McDermott wrote.

"Without this testimony, there is no evidence implicating Mr. Wright in the crime and the verdict should be set aside," McDermott said.

Mills countered that Williams' testimony was supported by other prosecution witnesses.

"Furthermore, as the defendant has attempted to attack the credibility of Martin Williams both at trial and in his moving papers; the defense has failed to mention how witnesses whose credibility has not been questioned by the defendant corroborated Mr. Williams' testimony at trial," Mills said.

Mills also denied the issue of an improper summation and the issue of the oath of office. Mills further said that McDermott was given all of the evidence collected by Meeks and had an expert witness he consulted about Meeks testimony as it occurred.